HAYWARD — Kurt Thorne, a popular teacher at Cesar Chavez Middle School in Hayward, died of a heart attack Wednesday morning. He was 48.

Thorne was stricken in his Oakland home between 5 and 6 a.m. and taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to his wife, Lisa Thorne.

“He was totally fine last night,” she said Wednesday afternoon. “It was very sudden.”

Lisa Thorne said her husband had a heart condition called cardiomyopathy and had a pacemaker implanted about seven years ago, but was otherwise healthy.

Thorne, the father of two young children, grew up in San Jose and had been a math teacher and math coach at Cesar Chavez since 1992.

Principal Vanessa Smith-Stucky said Thorne seemed completely healthy Tuesday, when she saw him at a staff meeting. She said the school’s faculty reacted to the news of Thorne’s death with shock and sadness.

“He was well-liked,” she said.

Todd Nagel, 19, had Thorne as his math teacher in the seventh and eighth grades at Cesar Chavez. Nagel, now a student at Chabot College, received a text message Wednesday morning from a friend, telling him of Thorne’s death.

“I didn’t know how to take it,” he said. “It was pretty shocking.”

He described Thorne as a teacher who liked to interact with his students.

Nagel said after leaving Cesar Chavez to attend Tennyson High School, he would still run into Thorne and talk with him. The last time he saw Thorne was on Halloween, when Thorne waved as they drove past each other.

“He was a good guy,” Nagel said.

Eric Enriquez, 33, an algebra teacher at Cesar Chavez, said Thorne was a good colleague and friend.

“People were just stunned,” Enriquez said of the news. “He was a role model for me. He had the respect of his peers and he impacted a lot lives, but he didn’t take himself too seriously.”

Thorne taught math for several years at Cesar Chavez before becoming a math coach, which entailed making sure algebra and pre-algebra teachers were delivering the best mathematics education possible, Enriquez said.

Enriquez said Thorne inspired him to join Men’s Division International — a fraternal organization that attempts to help men to become better husbands, fathers and community members.

“He lived a life of service,” Enriquez said.

According to Enriquez, Thorne enjoyed mountain biking and was an avid Oakland Raiders fan.

“He was an amazing father, completely dedicated to his family,” Lisa Thorne said. “His family came first.”

Thorne is survived by his wife; his son, Casey, 8; and daughter Jena, 5½.

For more information on the memorial service, call Eric Enriquez at 510-332-8540.

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